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(504c) Roman Republic, L. Cassius Longinus, 63 B.C.Silver denarius, Crawford 413/1, RSC I Cassia 10, SRCV I 364, aVF, struck with worn dies, Rome mint, weight 3.867g, maximum diameter 20.3mm, die axis 0o, c. 63 B.C. Obverse: veiled bust of Vesta left, kylix behind, L before; Reverse: LONGIN III V, voter standing left, dropping tablet inscribed V into a cista.

The reverse of this Longinus denarius captures a fascinating moment when a Roman citizen casts his ballot. "The abbreviation III V [ir] indentifies Longinus as one of the three annually appointed mintmasters (officially called tres viri aere argento auro flando feriundo). A citizen is seen casting his vote into the urn. On the ballot is the letter 'U', short for uti rogas, a conventional formula indicating assent to a motion. The picture alludes to the law, requested by an ancestor of the mintmaster, which introduced the secret ballot in most proceedings of the popular court" (Meier, Christian. Caesar, a Biography. Berlin: Severin and Siedler, 1982. Plate 6).

The date that this denarius was struck possesses unique significance for another reason. Marcus Tullius Cicero (politician, philosopher, orator, humanist) was elected consul for the year 63 BC -- the first man elected consul who had no consular ancestors in more than 30 years. A "new man," Cicero was not the descendant of a "patrician" family, nor was his family wealthy (although Cicero married "well"). Cicero literally made himself the man he was by the power of the words he spoke and the way in which he spoke them. A witness to and major player during the decline of the Roman Republic, Cicero was murdered in 43 BC by thugs working for Marc Antony. But Cicero proved impossible to efface.

Cicero's words became part of the bed rock of later Roman education. As Peter Heather notes, every educated young man in the late Roman Empire studied "a small number of literary texts under the guidance of an expert in language and literary interpretation, the grammarian. This occupied the individual for seven or more years from about the age of eight, and concentrated on just four authors: Vergil, Cicero, Sallust and Terence" (Heather, Peter. The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. 17).

Plutarch: Cicero's Death

But in the meantime the assassins were come with a band of soldiers, Herennius, a centurion, and Popillius, a tribune, whom Cicero had formerly defended when prosecuted for the murder of his father. Finding the doors shut, they broke them open, and Cicero not appearing, and those within saying they knew not where he was, it is stated that a youth, who had been educated by Cicero in the liberal arts and sciences, an emancipated slave of his brother Quintus, Philologus by name, informed the tribune that the litter was on its way to the sea through the close and shady walks. The tribune, taking a few with him, ran to the place where he was to come out. And Cicero, perceiving Herennius running in the walks, commanded his servants to set down the litter; and stroking his chin, as he used to do, with his left hand, he looked steadfastly upon his murderers, his person covered with dust, his beard and hair untrimmed, and his face worn with his troubles. So that the greatest part of those that stood by covered their faces whilst Herennius slew him. And thus was he murdered, stretching forth his neck out of the litter, being now in his sixty-fourth year. Herennius cut off his head, and, by Antony's command, his hands also, by which his Philippics were written; for so Cicero styled those orations he wrote against Antony, and so they are called to this day.

When these members of Cicero were brought to Rome, Antony was holding an assembly for the choice of public officers; and when he heard it, and saw them, he cried out, "Now let there be an end of our proscriptions." He commanded his head and hands to be fastened up over the rostra, where the orators spoke; a sight which the Roman people shuddered to behold, and they believed they saw there, not the face of Cicero, but the image of Antony's own soul. And yet amidst these actions he did justice in one thing, by delivering up Philologus to Pomponia, the wife of Quintus; who, having got his body into her power, besides other grievous punishments, made him cut off his own flesh by pieces, and roast and eat it; for so some writers have related. But Tiro, Cicero's emancipated slave, has not so much as mentioned the treachery of Philologus.

Translation by John Dryden: http://intranet.grundel.nl/thinkquest/moord_cicero_plu.html

Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes

00 - 01 - Marco Junio BrutoMarcus Junius Brutus, al ser adoptado por su Tío toma el nombre de Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus

AR Denario 18,00 mm de 3,60 gr.

Anv: "BRVTVS", Busto a cabeza desnuda de Lucio Junio Bruto a der.
1er.Consul y fundador de la República Romana en el 509 A.C., luego de participar activamente en la conspiración para derrocar a Tarquino "El Soberbio", último Rey de Roma
Rev: "AHALA", Busto a cabeza desnuda de Cayo Servilio Ahala a der.
Magister Equitum (Maestro de caballos) en el 439 D.C., autor del magnicidio del Dictador Espurio Melio en defensa de la República auque muchos autores atribuyen este asesinato a su deseo de convertirse en Rey de Roma

Acuñada por, quizás, el mas famosos de los asesinos de Julio Cesar, unos 10 años antes y a la edad de 31 años cuando desempeñaba uno de sus primeros cargos públicos como Magistrado Monetario. A travéz de esta moneda se atribuye la descendencia paterna de Lucio Junio Bruto y Materna de Cayo Servilio Ahala, dos defensores de la República y magnicidas; además muestra su fuerte defensa de la Res Pública, oposición a la tiranía y convencimiento que existía el homicidio justificable, valores que pondría mas tarde en práctica.
También se cree que esta moneda es una advertencia a Pompeyo "El Grande", quien tenía intensiones de convertirse en Dictador.

Acuñada durante los años 54 A.C. (s/RRC) ó 59 A.C. (s/BMCRR)
Ceca: Roma.

Referencias: Craw.RRC 433/2 - Syd. CRR #907 - BMCRR Roma #3864 - RSC vol.I #Junia 30, p.56 y #Servilia 17, p.89 - Sear RCTV Vol.I #398, p.149 - Albert #1362 - Mabbott #4079 - Catalli #617, p.2001 - Vagi #82 - Harlan RRM #3-4, pag.20mdelvalle

001h. BrutusMarcus Junius Brutus (also known as Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus). The most famed assassin of Caesar. Brutus joined the Pompeian forces fighting against Caesar; after their defeat Caesar pardoned Brutus. Brutus then joined the forces fighting Octavian and Mark Antony. He was defeated at the battles of Philippi in October 42 BC and committed suicide.

Coin: Denarius. Spring/Summer 42 AD. Obv: LEIBERTAS, bare head of Libertas right. Rev: CAEPIO BRVTVS PRO COS, Lyre between a quiver and a laurel branch. Junia 34, Cr501/1, Syd 1287.lawrence c

001s. Q. Caecilius BassusSELEUCIS and PIERIA, Antioch. Q. Caecilius Bassus. Proconsul, 46-44 BC. AR Tetradrachm (25mm, 14.85 g, 12h). In the name and types of the Seleucid king Philip I Philadelphus. Dated year 4 of the Caesarean Era (46/5 BC). Diademed head of Philip I right within fillet border / Zeus Nicephorus seated left; monogram to inner left, ∆ (date) and thunderbolt in exergue; all within wreath. McAlee 5a; RPC I 4128; SC 2491.2; Prieur 5; HGC 9, 1360b. CNG Auc 534 (15 March 2023), Lot 393.

Quintus Caecilius Bassus was governor of Syria. Bassus, a supporter of Pompey, had led an insurrection against Sextus, cousin of Julius Caesar and governor of Syria from 47-46 BC. He gained the loyalty of two mutinous legions, and fought off Caesarian attacks for about two years, even calling on the Parthians for assistance (Dio 27.5). After Caesar’s death, his troops defected to Cassius, but Bassus’ fate is unknown.
lawrence c

075a. AmandusAmandus (Gnaeus Silvius Amandus) 285 A.D. - 286 A.D. Amandus, along with Quintus Valens Aelianus, were leaders of a revolt by the Bagaudae, oppressed peasants in Gaul. It took two years for Maximianus and his general, Carausius, to defeat them. They were defeated and slain c. 286, on the Marne.lawrence c

107. PertinaxPertinax

Only a mediocre public speaker, Pertinax was first and foremost a gritty old soldier. He was heavily built, had a pot belly, although it was said, even by his critics, that he possessed the proud air of an emperor.
He possessed some charm, but was generally understood to be a rather sly character. He also acquired a reputation for being mean and greedy. He apparently even went as far as serving half portions of lettuce and artichoke before he became emperor. It was a characteristic which would not serve him well as an emperor.

When he took office, Pertinax quickly realized that the imperial treasury was in trouble. Commodus had wasted vast sums on games and luxuries. If the new emperor thought that changes would need to be made to bring the finances back in order he was no doubt right. But he sought to do too much too quickly. In the process he made himself enemies.

The gravest error, made at the very beginning of his reign, was to decide to cut some of the praetorian's privileges and that he was going to pay them only half the bonus he had promised.
Already on 3 January AD 193 the praetorians tried to set up another emperor who would pay up. But that senator, wise enough to stay out of trouble, merely reported the incident to Pertinax and then left Rome.

The ordinary citizens of Rome however also quickly had enough of their new emperor. Had Commodus spoilt them with lavish games and festivals, then now Pertinax gave them very little.
And a truly powerful enemy should be the praetorian prefect Laetus. The man who had after all put Pertinax on the throne, was to play an important role in the emperor's fate. It isn't absolutely clear if he sought to be an honest advisor of the emperor, but saw his advise ignored, or if he sought to manipulate Pertinax as his puppet emperor. In either case, he was disappointed.

And so as Pertinax grew ever more unpopular, the praetorians once more began to look for a new emperor. In early March, When Pertinax was away in Ostia overseeing the arrangements for the grain shipments to Rome, they struck again. This time they tried to set up one of the consuls, Quintus Sosius Falco.

When Pertinax returned to Rome he pardoned Falco who'd been condemned by the senate, but several praetorians were executed. A slave had given them away as being part of the conspiracy.
These executions were the final straw. On 28 March AD 193 the praetorians revolts.
300 hundred of them forced the gates to the palace. None of the guards sought to help their emperor.
Everyone, so it seemed, wanted rid of this emperor. So, too, Laetus would not listen as Pertinax ordered him to do something. The praetorian prefect simply went home, leaving the emperor to his fate.

Pertinax did not seek to flee. He stood his ground and waited, together with his chamberlain Eclectus. As the praetorians found him, they did not discover an emperor quivering with fear, but a man determined on convincing them to put down their weapons. Clearly the soldiers were over-awed by this brave man, for he spoke to them for some time. But eventually their leader found enough courage to step forwards and hurl his spear at the emperor. Pertinax fell with the spear in his chest. Eclectus fought bravely for his life, stabbing two, before he two was slain by the soldiers.
The soldiers then cut off Pertinax' head, stuck it on a spear and paraded through the streets of Rome.

Pertinax had ruled for only 87 days. He was later deified by Septimius Severus.

RI1. Pertinax. A.D. 193. AR denarius (18.0 mm, 2.74 g, 7 h). Rome mint. Rare. IMP CAES P HELV PERTIN AVG, laureate head right / OPI DIVIN TR P COS II, Ops seated left, holding two stalks of grain, resting hand on seat of throne. RIC 8a; RSC 33; BMCRE 19. aVF, flan crack.ecoli

117-138 AD - HADRIAN AE as - struck 118 ADobv: IMP.CAES.DIVI.TRA.PARTH.F.DIVI NER.NEP.TRAIANO.HADRIANO.AVG (laureate bust right, drapery on left shoulder)
rev: PONT.MAX.TR.POT.COS.II (legionary eagle between two standards), S-C in ex.
ref: RIC II 546b (S), C.1182 (5frcs)
mint: Rome
8.68gms, 28mm
Scarce

History: Quintus Marcius Turbo (who was governor of Pannonia [117-118] and later became Hadrian's praetorian prefect) successfully led II Adiutrix against the Sarmatians in 118, this coin probably commemorated the succesfull campaign.
1 commentsberserker

120 - HERENNIVS ETRVSCVSQuintus Herennius Etruscus Messius Decius was Roman emperor in 251, ruling jointly with his father Decius.

for obverse, reverse and coin details click here
shanxi

138-161 AD - ANTONINUS PIUS AR denarius - struck 143-144 ADobv: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III (laureate head right)
rev: IMPERATOR II (Victory standing front, head left, holding wreath and palm)
ref: RIC III 111, RSC 437, BMC 496
3.40gms, 18mm,

History: Quintus Lollius Urbicus was made governor of Roman Britain in 138. He evidently campaigned against several British tribes: the northern Brigantes, the Votadini, the Selgovae, the Damnonii and the Novantae. Lollius probably also oversaw the initial construction of the Antonine Wall and refurbished many forts. The reverse commemorates Antoninus' second imperatorial acclamation which he accepted in 143 AD for Q. Lollius Urbicus' victory over the Brigantes in Britannia.berserker

142 AD: Antoninus Pius Victory in BritanniaOrichalcum sestertius (25.02g). Rome mint. Struck AD 142-144
ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III Laureate head right
VICTORIA AVG / S C [in two lines in ex.] Victoria in quadriga r.
RIC 653 [S]; BMC 1326; Cohen 1082
Victory by Quintus Lollius Urbicus over the Brigantes in AD 142 in Britannia.Charles S

1aw Vespasian69-79

Denarius
Laureate head, right, IMP CAES VESP AVG CEN
Salus seated left with patera, SALVS AVG

RIC 513 (C2)

Suetonius wrote: The Flavians seized power, and the Empire, long troubled and adrift, afflicted by the usurpations and deaths of three emperors, at last achieved stability. True they were an obscure family, with no great names to boast of, yet one our country has no need to be ashamed of. . . . Vespasian was born in the Sabine country, in the little village of Falacrinae just beyond Reate (Rieti), on the 17th of November 9 AD in the consulship of Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus and Gaius Poppaeus Sabinus, five years before the death of Augustus. He was raised by his paternal grandmother Tertulla on her estate at Cosa. . . .

Under Claudius, he was sent to Germany (in 41 AD) to command a legion, thanks to the influence of Narcissus. From there he was posted to Britain (in 43 AD), where partly under the leadership of Aulus Plautius and partly that of Claudius himself, he fought thirty times, subjugating two powerful tribes, more than twenty strongholds, and the offshore island of Vectis (the Isle of Wight). This earned him triumphal regalia, and a little later two priesthoods and the consulship (in 51 AD) which he held for the last two months of the year. . . . He won, by lot, the governorship of Africa (in 63 AD), ruling it soundly and with considerable dignity. . . .

An ancient and well-established belief became widespread in the East that the ruler of the world at this time would arise from Judaea. This prophecy as events proved referred to the future Emperor of Rome, but was taken by the Jews to apply to them. They rebelled, killed their governor, and routed the consular ruler of Syria also, when he arrived to restore order, capturing an Eagle. To crush the rebels needed a considerable force under an enterprising leader, who would nevertheless not abuse power. Vespasian was chosen, as a man of proven vigour, from whom little need be feared, since his name and origins were quite obscure. Two legions with eight divisions of cavalry and ten cohorts of auxiliaries were added to the army in Judaea, and Vespasian took his elder son, Titus, along as one of his lieutenants. . . .

Yet Vespasian made no move, though his follower were ready and eager, until he was roused to action by the fortuitous support of a group of soldiers unknown to him, and based elsewhere. Two thousand men, of the three legions in Moesia reinforcing Otho’s forces, despite hearing on the march that he had been defeated and had committed suicide, had continued on to Aquileia, and there taken advantage of the temporary chaos to plunder at will. Fearing that if they returned they would be held to account and punished, they decided to choose and appoint an emperor of their own, on the basis that they were every bit as worthy of doing so as the Spanish legions who had appointed Galba, or the Praetorian Guard which had elected Otho, or the German army which had chosen Vitellius. They went through the list of serving consular governors, rejecting them for one reason or another, until in the end they unanimously adopted Vespasian, who was recommended strongly by some members of the Third Legion, which had been transferred to Moesia from Syria immediately prior to Nero’s death. . . .

Vespasian, an unheralded and newly-forged emperor, as yet lacked even a modicum of prestige and divine majesty, but this too he acquired. . . . Returning to Rome (in 70 AD) attended by such auspices, having won great renown, and after a triumph awarded for the Jewish War, he added eight consulships (AD 70-72, 74-77, 79) to his former one, and assumed the censorship. He first considered it essential to strengthen the State, which was unstable and well nigh fatally weakened, and then to enhance its role further during his reign. . . .
2 commentsBlindado

1bn Commodus177-192

Sestertius

Laureate head, right, M COMMOD ANT P FELIX AVG BRIT PP

Roma seated left, ROM FEL PM TR P XVI COS VI

RIC 224

The Historia Augusta reports: As for Commodus himself, he was born, with his twin brother Antoninus, at Laiiuvium where his mother's father was born, it is said on the day before the Kalends of September, while his father and uncle were consuls. . . . Marcus tried to educate Commodus by his own teaching and by that of the greatest and the best of men. . . . However, teachers in all these studies profited him not in the least such is the power, either of natural character, or of the tutors maintained in a palace. For even from his earliest years he was base and dis- honorable, and cruel and lewd, defiled of mouth, moreover, and debauched. . . . While yet a child he was given the name of Caesar, along with his brother Verus. . . .

[After Marcus died], He abandoned the war which his father had almost finished and submitted to the enemy's terms, and then he returned to Rome. . . . After he had come back to Rome, he led the triumphal procession with Saoterus, his partner in depravity, seated in his chariot, and from time to time he would turn around and kiss him openly, repeating this same performance even in the orchestra. And not only was he wont to drink until dawn and squander the resources of the Roman Empire, but in the evening he would ramble through taverns and brothels. 6 He sent out to rule the provinces men who were either his companions in crime or were recommended to him by criminals. He became so detested by the senate that he in his turn was moved with cruel passion for the destruction of that great order, and from having been despised he became bloodthirsty. . . . He was called also the Roman Hercules, on the ground that he had killed 192 wild beasts in the amphitheatre at Lanuvium. . . . He engaged in gladiatorial combats, and accepted
the names usually given to gladiators 5 with as much pleasure as if he had been granted triumphal decorations. . . .

Because of these things but all too late Quintus Aemilius Laetus, prefect of the guard, and Marcia, his concubine, were roused to action and entered into a conspiracy against his life. First they gave him poison; and when this proved ineffective they had him strangled by the athlete with whom he was accustomed to exercise.Blindado

1dp Carus282-283

AE antoninianus

Radiate draped bust, right, IMP C M AVR CARVS P F AVG
Emperor standing right, receiving Victory on globe from Jupiter standing left, G between, XXI in ex, CLEMENTIA TEMP

RIC 118

The Historia Augusta recorded: Let us, rather, pass on to Carus, a mediocre man, so to speak, but one to be ranked with the good rather than the evil princes, yet a better ruler by far, had he not left Carinus to be his heir. . . . In regard to Cams' birthplace there is such divergence of statement among the various writers that by reason of the very great difference among them I am unable to tell what it really was. . . . He, then, after rising through the various civil and military grades, as the inscriptions on his statues show, was made prefect of the guard by Probus, and he won such affection among the soldiers that when Probus, that great emperor, was slain, he alone seemed wholly worthy of the imperial power. I am not unaware that many have suspected and, in fact, have put it into the records that Probus was slain by the treachery of Carus. This, however, neither the kindness of Probus toward Carus nor Carus' own character will permit us to believe, and there is the further reason that he avenged the death of Probus with the utmost severity and steadfastness. . . .

[Zonaras adds: Another war against Galienus was incited by Macrinus, who, having two sons, Macrianus and Quintus, attempted a usurpation. Because he was lame in one leg, he did not don the imperial mantle, but clad his sons in it.]

And so. . . , as soon as he received the imperial power, by the unanimous wish of all the soldiers he took up the war against the Persians for which Probus had been preparing. He gave to his sons the name of Caesar, planning to despatch Carinus, with some carefully selected men, to govern the provinces of Gaul, and to take along with himself Numerian, a most excellent and eloquent young man. . . . [H]e conquered Mesopotamia and advanced as far as Ctesiphon; and while the Persians were busied with internal strife he won the name of Conqueror of Persia. But when he advanced still further, desirous himself of glory and urged on most of all by his prefect, who in his wish to rule was seeking the destruction of both Carus and his sons as well, he met his death, according to some, by disease, according to others, through a stroke of lightning.

Zonaras wrote: He was a Gaul by ancestry, but brave and accomplished in matters of warfare. The account of his death has been variously composed by those who have done historical research. Some say that, having campaigned against the Huns, he was killed there. Others say that he was encamped by the River Tigris and that there, in the place where his army had thrown up a palisade, his tent was struck by lightning, and they record that, along with it, he too was destroyed.Blindado

2) The Pompeians: Quintus SiciniusROMAN REPUBLIC
Quintus Sicinius for Pompey
AR Denarius, 49 B.C. (3.6g)

Diademed head of Fortuna Populi Romani, goddess of Fortune of the Roman people. FORT before, P.R. behind / Crossed palm branch and winged caduceus (staff carried by ambassadors in wartime), wreath above. Q. SICINIVS, III VIR

The symbols of good fortune and victory on the reverse, together with Fortuna populi Romani on the obverse, anticipate victory by Pompey over Caesar.

CR 440, Sear Imperators #1, Sicinia 5
RM0043Sosius

249/3. Maenia - quadrans (133 BC)AE Quadrans (Rome, 132 BC)
O/ Head of Hercules right, wearing lion's skin; 3 pellets behind.
R/ P MAE ANT M F above prow right; 3 pellets before; ROMA below.
4.65g, 19mm
Crawford 249/3 (28 specimens in Paris)
- Ex-Thersites Collection (bought on 18 April 1986)
- Roma Numismatics, e-sale 33, lot 336.

* Publius Maenius M.f. Antiaticus:

Antiaticus belonged to the plebeian gens Maenia, but his relatives are not known. Other Maenii are recorded in the 2nd century, such as Titus, Gaius, and Quintus Maenius, Praetors respectively in 186, 180, and 170, or Publius Maenius, moneyer in 194-190. However, Antiaticus mentioned on his coins that he was the son of Marcus, who is not known, and none of the aforementioned Maenii shared his cognomen.

Antiaticus must have therefore belonged to another branch of the gens, which descended from Gaius Maenius, Consul in 338, Dictator in 320 and 314, who defeated the Volsci by taking their city of Antium in 338, thus putting an end to the Second Latin War and also the conquest of Latium. The cognomen Antiaticus comes from this victory, for which Gaius Maenius was also rewarded by a statue on the Forum, possibly at the top of a column (Cicero, Pro Sestio, 58; Livy, VIII, 13).

The life of Antiaticus is still very obscure, and it seems he did not hold other office. He is only known through his coins.

Eckel read ME at the end of this legend and conjectured that it might have been the first letters of an agnomen Megellus or Medulinus (V, p. 240-1), but it seems very unlikely that a moneyer could have received an agnomen so early in his career. Perhaps Eckhel could not see good examples of this type; in any case, the legend on this coin clearly reads as MF, for "Marcus filius".Joss

251 AD - Hostilian - Viminacium - Moesia with Lion and Bull ReverseEmperor: Hostilian (r. 251 AD)
Date: 251 AD
Condition: aFine
Size: AE26

Obverse: IMP C VAL HOST M QVINTVS AVG
Imperator Caesar Valens Hostilian Messius Quintus Emperor
Bust right; laureate

Reverse: P M S C-OL VIM
Moesia standing between a lion (right) and a bull (left).
Exergue: ANXII (Year 12 of the Colonial Era of Viminacium = 251 AD)

Mint: Viminacium, Moesia Superior
12.64g; 26.7mm; 345°Pep

305b. Herennius EtruscusQuintus Herennius Etruscus Messius Decius (c. 227 - July 1, 251), was Roman emperor in 251, in a joint rule with his father Trajan Decius. Emperor Hostilian was his younger brother.

Herennius was born in Pannonia, during one of his father's military postings. His mother was Herennia Cupressenia Etruscilla, a Roman lady of an important senatorial family. Herennius was very close to his father and accompanied him in 248, as a military tribune, when Decius was appointed by Philip the Arab to deal with the revolt of Pacatianus in the Danube frontier. Decius was successful on defeating this usurper and felt confident to begin a rebellion of his own in the following year. Acclaimed emperor by his own troops, Decius marched into Italy and defeated Philip near modern Verona. In Rome, Herennius was declared heir to the throne and received the title of princeps iuventutis (prince of youth).

From the beginning of Herennius' accession, Gothic tribes raided across the Danube frontier and the provinces of Moesia and Dacia. At the beginning of 251, Decius elevated Herennius to the title of Augustus making him his co-emperor. Moreover, Herennius was chosen to be one of the year's consuls. The father and son, now joint rulers, then embarked in an expedition against king Cniva of the Goths to punish the invaders for the raids. Hostilian remained in Rome and the empress Herennia Etruscilla was named regent. Cniva and his men were returning to their lands with the booty, when the Roman army encountered them. Showing a very sophisticated military tactic, Cniva divided his army in smaller, more manageable groups and started to push back the Romans into a marshy swamp. On July 1, both armies engaged in the battle of Abrittus. Herennius died in battle, struck by an enemy arrow. Decius survived the initial confrontation, only to be slain with the rest of the army before the end of the day. Herennius and Decius were the first two emperors to be killed by a foreign army in battle.

With the news of the death of the emperors, the army proclaimed Trebonianus Gallus emperor, but in Rome they were succeeded by Hostilian, who would die shortly afterwards in an outbreak of plague.

Herennius Etruscus AR Antoninianus. Q HER ETR MES DECIVS NOB C, radiate draped bust right / CONCORDIA AVGG, clasped hands. RIC 138, RSC 41 commentsecoli

305c. HostilianGaius Valens Hostilianus Messius Quintus (died 251), was Roman emperor in 251. Hostilian was born in an unknown date, after 230, as the son of the future emperor Trajan Decius by his wife Herennia Cupressenia Etruscilla. He was the younger brother of emperor Herennius Etruscus.

Following his father's accession to the throne, Hostilian received the treatment of an imperial prince, but was always kept in the shade of his brother Herennius, who enjoyed the privileges of being older and heir. In the beginning of 251, Decius elevated his son Herennius to co-emperor and Hostilian succeeded him in the title of princeps iuventutis (prince of youth). These dispositions were made previous to a campaign against king Cniva of the Goths, to punish him over the raids on the Danubian frontier. Hostilian remained in Rome due to his inexperience, and empress Herennia was named regent.

The campaign proved to be a disaster: both Herennius and Decius died in the Battle of Abrittus and became the first two emperors to be killed by a foreign army in battle. The armies in the Danube acclaimed Trebonianus Gallus emperor, but Rome acknowledged Hostilian's rights. Since Trebonianus was a respected general, there was fear of another civil war of succession, despite the fact that he chose to respect the will of Rome and adopted Hostilian. But later in 251, plague broke out in Rome and Hostilian died in the epidemic. He was the first emperor in 40 years and one of only 13 to die of natural causes. His timely death opened the way for the rule of Trebonianus with his natural son Volusianus.

Hostilian. Moesia Superior. Viminacium AE 25 mm. 11.7 g. Obverse: C VAL HOST M QVINTVS CAE. Draped bust right. Reverse: P M S COL VIM AN XII. Moesia standing left between lion and bull. ecoli

33 Philip II RIC 231cPhilip II 247-249 AD. Ar Antoninianus. Rome Mint. (4.01g; 22.54mm) Obv: IMP PHILIPPVS AVG, Radiate, draped & cuirassed bust right. Rev: PAX AETERNA, Pax standing left holding a branch & short scepter.
RSC 23, RIC 231c

Ex: Romadrome

From Wikipedia:
Marcus Julius Philippus Severus, also known as Philippus II, Philip II and Philip the Younger (238–249) was the son and heir of the Roman Emperor Philip the Arab by his wife Roman Empress Marcia Otacilia Severa. According to numismatic evidence, he had a sister called Julia Severa or Severina, whom the extant literary sources do not mention and a brother, Quintus Philippus Severus.

When his father became emperor in 244 he was appointed Caesar. In 247 he became consul, and later elevated by his father to the rank of Augustus and co-ruler. His father was killed in battle by his successor Decius in 249. When news of this death reached Rome, he was murdered by the Praetorian Guard. He died in his mother's arms, aged eleven years.Paddy

40 BC Octavian denariusC CAESAR III VIR R P C
Bare haed of Octavian right

Q SALVIVS IMP COS DESIG
thunderbolt

Italy early 40 BC
3.43g

Sear 1541

SOLD!

David Sear says that this Q Salvius may be Quintus Salvius Salvidienus Rufus who was the boyhood friend and confidant of Octavian. In 42 BC Octavian made him admiral of his fleet and instructed him to attack Sextus Pompey in Sicily. Despite being beaten by Sextus he was granted the title of Imperator which appears on this coin.

After the battle of Philippi Salvidienus was given command of 6 Legions an sent to Spain however he quickly had to return to Italy to confront Fulvia (Antony's wife) and Lucius Antonius (Antony's brother). Salvidienus captured and destroyed the city of Sentinum and then moved on to Perusia with Agrippa to besiege Lucius Antony. At the end of the Perusian War Octavian sent Salvidienus to Gallia as Governor, with eleven legions. He was also designated as consul for 39 BC, although he had not reached senatorial rank.

Salvidienus proved to be unworthy of Octavian's trust and entered into secret negotiations with Mark Antony thinking that Antony would prevail. Unfortunately for Salvidienus, Antony and Octavian were reconciled and Antony informed Octavian of Salvidienus treachary. Antony's decision to inform on Salvidienus has been used to show his desire to settle the differences with Octavian. The senate declared Salvidienus a public enemy and shortly after he was killed, either by his own hand or by execution.Jay GT4

47-46 BC Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius ScipioQ METEL SCIPIO IMP
head of Africa right, laur. and clad in elephant's skin, corn-ear before, plough below

EPPIVS LEG F C

Naked Hercules standing facing right, hand on hip resting on club set on rock

North Africa
47-46 BC

Sear 1380/1

Born Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica. He was adopted by his uncle by marriage and father's second cousin Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius. He married Aemilia Lepida, daughter of Mamercus Aemilius Lepidus Livianus (son of the Censor Marcus Livius Drusus and wife Cornelia Scipio and adopted by Mamercus Aemilius Lepidus) and wife Claudia (sister of Appius Claudius Pulcher (Senior)), and was the father in law of Pompey the Great, married to his daughter Cornelia Metella, called Quinta Pompeia for being his fifth wife.

He was Tribune in 59 BC and became Consul with Pompey the Great in 52 BC. During Caesar's civil war, he served the party of Pompey and fought against Caesar and Marcus Antonius. In 49 BC he was sent as Proconsul to Syria and the following year he took part in the Battle of Pharsalus, where he commanded the center of the Republican battleline. After Pharsalus he fled to Africa were he commanded an army with Cato the Younger, losing in the Battle of Thapsus. After the defeat he tried to escape but was cornered by the fleet of Publius Sittius when he wrecked the ship as he tried to escape to the Iberian Peninsula, to continue to fight from there. He committed suicide by stabbing himself so he would not fall at the hands of his enemies.

SOLD to Calgary Coin June 20171 commentsJay GT4

ANTIOCH - SyriaANTIOCH - Syria, Bronze AE 27, RPC I 4223; BMC Galatia pg. 154, 25, 41 - 40 B.C.; obverse laureate head of Zeus right; reverse ANTIOCEWN MHTROPO THS IERAS KAI ASULOU, Zeus seated left holding Nike and scepter; pileus surmounted by star before, date BOG below (= Seleukid year 272).

Data from FORVM catalogue: About the time this coin was minted, the Parthians led by Quintus Labienus and Pacorus I attacked Syria, which was under Marc Antony's authority. Quintus Labienus was the son of Caesar's general Titus Labienus. He served under Brutus and Cassius, and after the battle at Phillipi fled to Parthia, which he had visited before as an ambassador. After several battles against Antony's governor, Saxa, they occupied the entire province and later Asia Minor and Palestine. In Judea, Pacorus deposed king John Hyrcanus II and appointed his nephew Antigonus king in his place. Labienus was killed during a Roman counter attack in 39 B.C. The territory they captured was recovered for Rome. Pacorus retreated to Parthia but died one year later in an attack on a Roman camp. 1 commentsdpaul7

Antoninus Pius, RIC 607, Sestertius of AD 142 (Jupiter Stator)Æ Sestertius (25,67g, Ø 33mm, 11h). Rome mint. Struck AD 142.
Obv.: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III, laureate head right.
Rev.: IOVI STATORI (around) S C (field), Jupiter, naked, standing front, holding long sceptre and thunderbolt.
RIC 607 (rare); BMCRE 1247 var. (hd. left; note: variant with hd. right not in B.M.); Cohen 460; Strack 835 (3 spec. for hd. r.); Banti (I Grandi Bronzi Imperiali II-3) 188 (3 spec.); Sear (Roman Coins and their Values II) 4184.
Ex CNG 91

According to Strack, this type was issued to thank Jupiter Stator for his help in the victory by Quintus Lollius Urbicus over the Brigantes in Britannia in 142.4 commentsCharles S

Antoninus Pius, RIC 653, Sestertius of AD 142-144 (Victoria in quadriga)Æ sestertius (25.02g). Rome mint. Struck AD 142-144.
Obv.: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III Laureate head right.
Rev.: VICTORIA AVG / S C [in two lines in ex.] Victoria, hodling reins in both hands, in quadriga right.
RIC 653 [S]; BMC 1326; Cohen 1082 (10 fr.); Strack 866; Banti (I Grandi Bronzi Imperiali II-3) 510 (4 spec.); Sear (Roman Coins & Their Values II) 4258.
Ex Künker auction 153 (2009)

Victory by Quintus Lollius Urbicus over the Brigantes in AD 142 in Britannia.Charles S

Arpi, Apulia325-275 BC
AE20 (20mm, 7.07g)
O: Laureate head of Zeus left; [thunderbolt] behind.
R: Kalydonian boar running right; spearhead above, [Α]ΡΠΑΝ[ΟΥ] below.
SNG ANS 639; SNG Cop 605; HN Italy 642; Sear 569; BMC 1, 4
ex Andre C

Situated about 20 miles inland from the Adriatic Sea, Arpi was an ancient city which legend tells us was founded by the hero Diomedes. Arpi allied with Rome at the end of the 4th century BC, and supplied them with infantry and cavalry in the war against Pyrrhus.
After the annihilation of the Roman army at Cannae in 216 Arpi defected to the Carthaginian cause, and Hannibal made the city his winter headquarters in 215. However upon his departure to move his army south the Roman consul Quintus Fabius Maximus retook the city in 213, and Arpi never again regained its’ former importance.
Enodia

Campania, Neapolis. (Circa 300 BC)AR Didrachm

20 mm, 6.98 g

Obverse: Head of nymph r., wearing taenia, triple-pendant earring and necklace; four dolphins around (only the bottom two around the neck visible).

Reverse: Man-headed bull walking r., being crowned by Nike; ΘE below bull. [NE]OΠOΛI[TΩN] in exergue

Sambon 457; HNItaly 576; SNG ANS 336.

Neapolis was founded ca. 650 B.C. from Cumae (a nearby city and the first Greek colony on mainland Italy). Ancient tradition records that it had originally been named after the siren Parthenope, who had been washed ashore on the site after failing to capture Odysseus (Sil. Pun. 12.33-36). The early city, which was called Palae(o)polis, developed in the SW along the modern harbor area and included Pizzofalcone and Megaris (the Castel dell'Ovo), a small island in the harbor. Megaris itself may have been the site of a still older Rhodian trading colony (Strab. 14.2.10). Owing to the influx of Campanian immigrants, the town began to develop to the NE along a Hippodamian grid plan. This new extension was called Neapolis, while Palae(o)polis became a suburb. Incited to a war with Rome by the Greek elements, the city was captured in 326 B.C. by the proconsul Quintus Publilius Philo (Liv. 8.22.9), and the suburb ceased to exist. Neapolis then became a favored ally of the Romans; it repulsed Pyrrhos, contributed naval support during the First Punic War, and withstood the attacks of Hannibal. Nathan P

Coriosolite Bi "boar" stater, region: Armorica (Brittany and Channel Islands), c. 56 BCSlightly oval shape, obverse convex, reverse a bit concave. 19-20+mm, 2+mm thick, 5.05g, die axis 6h (coin alignment), material: billon of unknown silver and other metal content.

Obverse: stylized head of a god right (Celtic "Apollo", most probably a Sun or sky god) with three plaits of curly hair forming the triskelion-like spiral pattern, reverse: stylized charioteer driving a chariot right with a boar right under the horse and a curl and leaf device in front of it.

The design is loosely based on golden staters of Philip II of Macedon with laureate head of Apollo right on obverse and a charioteer driving a biga (Mediterranean two-horse chariot) right on reverse.

ID: since the obverse is worn off, it is impossible to determine exactly the variety of this coin. but the reverse features such as no reins, chariot driver's head has no long "nose" and even the weak obverse and strong clear reverse all point to series Y. The pellet eye of the pony, no ears, characteristic shape of the pony's head, "weird" driver and the leaf and curl rather than the quadrilateral banner all point to class I (roman numeral), most probably its middle group I (letter), but earlier group H or later transitional groups J or even K of class III are also possible (only the shape of the eye and nose on the obverse would have allowed to tell definitely). This is a well-developed middle chronological type, minted somewhere west of the river Rance.

Mythological and symbolic connotations of this design are very complex. The spirals (here present in the god's hair and as the device before the horse) were one of the most important Celtic symbols, with its main meaning related to the Sun and life (e. g. the Sun's "growing" from winter to summer solstice and then dwindling back, growing from child to adult, leaves and vines unfolding etc.) The double spiral meant life and death or death and rebirth, the cycle of seasons, that sort of thing. The triple spiral or triskelion was probably of the biggest mystical significance, connected to the godhead, with meaning like past+present+future = eternity or morning + day + evening = time. It definitely had to do with the change of seasons, flow of time, power over life and death. Thus the god's hear all made out of spirals with three main spiral branches. The charioteer also probably represents a deity, probably the same deity representing light and life, hunting the boar representing darkness and death. The boar symbol (if one looks closely, there is a rising or setting sun symbol -- a pellet within a circle over a line -- between the boar's legs) is connected to the darkness because boars are dark and their tusks look like crescent moons. They are also parts of many myths, e. g. Greek darkish stories of the Calydonian Boar hunted by Meleager and his many hero comrades or the Erymanthian boar killed by Heracles as his fourth (by some counts) labor: Celts shared the Greek mythological tradition, but probably imbued it with many of their own mythological connotations. God hunting the boar probably symbolizes the same as the spirals in the obverse: changing of seasons, passing of time, life and rebirth etc.

Coriosolites were a Gallic tribe. In the 1st century BC they were living in the so called "Armorica" (ar mor = by the sea) -- a region of modern Brittany around the river Rance roughly to the south of Jersey. They probably migrated there from Rhineland, running away from the Germanic expansion, since they share some cultural features with the Celtic tribes of the Rhine. This tribe on its own was hardly of much significance compared to the other neighboring Gallic tribes (Unelli, Osismii, Veneti, Redones, Abrincatui etc.), but their coin making is among the best studied of all the Celts because several huge hoards of their coins were discovered in Brittany and Jersey, and studied in detail. When Romans led by Julius Caesar came to conquer Gaul, Coriosolites were actively resisting, first on their own, then as a part of the local tribal union and, finally, contributed to Vercingetorix's war effort. The minting of these coins and hoarding them was probably related to these war activities and subsequent defeat, so since series Y is in the middle of the chronology, it can probably be dated around the middle of the Gallic wars (58 - 50 BC), but since the main event in Armorica, the stand off with Viridovix, happened in 57-56 BC, that's probably the best guess.

In addition to Caesar himself, two other Roman generals who fought Coriosolites should be mentioned: Publius Licinius Crassus (86|82? - 53 BC), a son of Marcus Licinius Crassus, Caesar's co-triumvir, who led the initial assault on Armorica, and Quintus Titurius Sabinus, who defeated the union of three Gallic tribes (Unelli, Curiosolitae, and Lexovii) under the chieftain Viridovix in 56 BC. Ironically to our discussion, when Crassus went back to Rome, his first office there was a monetalis, i. e. a Republican official with authority to issue coins.

A lot more about this type of coins can be learned here:
http://www.writer2001.com/exp0002.htmYurii P

Cr 263/5a Æ Quadrans M. Caecilius Q.f. Q.n. MetellusRome, c. 127 b.c.e.

o: Hercules hd r., lion's skin headdress; behind, three pellets
r: Prow r., inscribed M·METELLVS; abv, Macedonian shield; bf, three pellets; below, ROMA

Although not particularly fascinating, this type has the moneyer's name inscribed across the galley side. For extra measure, young Marcus-son-of-Quintus-grandson-of-Quintus added the Macedonian shield often found with the Metelli, which, in my view, always includes an elephant at the center of the shield, even on this tiny object, and more readily visible on the denarius and semis in this series.

19.8 mm., 4.10 gm I think there is some sign of overstriking; it is not a common coin.PMah

Cr 428/1 AR Denarius Q. Cassius Longinus Rome 55 b.c.e.
o: Veiled head of Vesta right; Q•CASSIVS downwards to left, VEST upwards to right
r: Curule chair within circular temple of Vesta; urn to left, vota tablet inscribed AC to right
Cassia 9; 4.02 gm, 19 mm, 9h
The issue commemorates the trial, or rather, retrial, in 113 b.c.e., presided over by L. Cassius Longinus Ravilla of three Vestal Virgins. "Condemno" as to two of them, even though they had all been acquitted once already. Ravilla is, as a side note to a side note, essentially the lawyer who first said "Follow the money". Censor in 125 b.c.e.
Quintus was the brother or cousin of the conspirator against Caesar, although Quintus had been a Caesarian appointee. He was so awful as governor of Further Spain that a revolt of both native and Roman troops broke out. He likely perished fleeing the revolt.
His issues as moneyer, however, were fairly successful designs. This specimen is quite nice, retaining the "AC" on the tablet quite well, with the voting urn remaining quite clear.

1 commentsPMah

Crawford 20/1, ROMAN REPUBLIC - AR DidrachmRome, The Republic.
Anonymous, 269-266 BCE.
AR Didrachm (7.28g; 21mm).
Uncertain mint.

Obv: Diademed head of youthful Hercules facing right, with lion skin and club over shoulder.

Rev: She-Wolf suckling the twins, Romulus & Remus; ROMANO in exergue.

References: Crawford 20/1; Sydenham 6; BMCRR (Romano-Campanian) 28-33.

Provenance: Ex Dr. Walter F. Stoeklin Collection [Nomos AG eSale 9 (25 Mar 2018) Lot 2]; Adolph Hess Auction (19 Dec 1933), Lot 3.

The earliest Roman Didrachm coinage commenced in the late fourth century BCE. While earliest didrachms bore the inscription ROMANO, they were not struck in Rome and didn’t really circulate in Rome! The earliest didrachms were likely produced in Naples or some other nearby mint. Kenneth Harl, in "Coinage in the Roman Economy" theorizes that Roman didrachms were likely valued at 10 asses and were possibly called “denarii” in their day.

This coin is from the large, third issue of didrachms produced around the time of the Pyrrhic War, circa 269 BCE. In "Natural History", Pliny wrote that the Romans first struck silver coins “in the 485th year of the city, when Q. Ogulnius and C. Fabius were consuls, five years before the First Punic War [=269 BC].” (NH 33.42-44) Some surmise that Pliny’s now infamous text refers to the above coin type. Pliny’s text confounded for generations the determination by Roman numismatists of the introduction date for the denarius, with many scholars interpreting his statement as evidence for an early introduction; that “literal” theory having been disproven by Thomsen’s analysis in “Early Roman Coinage” and the indisputable evidence of the destruction level finds at Morgantina.

In "Roman Republican Coinage", Michael Crawford assigned this type to the Rome mint, but Crawford turned non-committal regarding the mint in his later book, Coinage and Money Under the Roman Republic. Previous scholars (Babelon, Grueber, Sydenham) had attributed this series to Campania. The reverse bears the first depiction of the she-wolf and suckling twins on a Roman coin, representing the mythical founding of Rome. The emblematic nature of this scene likely influenced the mint assignment by some researchers. Indeed, subsequent coins bearing this scene have similarly been assigned to Rome by some authors, perhaps without justification, based on the “Roman” character of the scene – notably the Eagle/Wolf and Twins AE Sextans (Crawford 39/3) of the semi-libral reduction in 217-215 BCE, which I believe is likely a Campanian product. There would be countless more such depictions of the wolf and twins on Roman coins during the ensuing centuries [Crawford 183; Crawford 235/1; Antoninus Pius; Maxentius; Constantine “commemoratives”, etc.]. According to Pliny, Q. Ogulnius was a consul when this coin was likely first produced, and the reverse may allude to the wolf and twins statue erected in Rome by Ogulnius’ grandfather and great uncle, the brothers Quintus and Gnaeus Ogulnius, in 296 BCE.
2 commentsCarausius

Crawford 502/2, ROMAN IMPERATORIAL, Brutus, AR DenariusRome. The Imperators.
Brutus, 44-42 BCE.
AR Denarius (3.76g; 17mm).
Military Mint, Spring-Summer 42 BCE.

Obverse: L·SESTI - PRO·Q; Veiled and draped bust of Libertas, facing right.

Reverse: Q·CAEPIO·BRVTVS·PRO·COS; Tripod with axe on left and simpulum on right.

References: Crawford 502/2; HCRI 201; Syd 1290; BMCRR East 41; Junia 37; Sestia 2.

Provenance: Ex Alan J. Harlan Collection [Triton XXII (9 Jan 2019), Lot 951]; Kunker 288 (13 Mar 2017) Lot 314; Theodor Prowe Collection [Hess (20 May 1912) Lot 933].

Marcus Junius Brutus was posthumously adopted by his maternal uncle, Quintus Servilius Caepio. Afterward, Brutus sometimes used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, which both honored his uncle and advertised his maternal descent from Gaius Servilius Structus Ahala. Ahala was a Roman Republican hero who had killed someone with regal aspirations. In his early political career, Brutus issued coins with the portrait of Ahala on one side (see Crawford 433/2; http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-144687). Following the assassination of Caesar, Brutus resurrected his use of the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, as on this coin, again alluding to this Servilian connection in his family tree. Combined with the bust of Liberty on the obverse of this coin, the message is clear: that the assassins were liberators from monarchy in the old Republican tradition of their ancestors. The reverse shows the symbols of Brutus’ membership in the college of priests.

This example comes from the collection of Theodor Prowe of Moscow, one of the great collections of the early 20th century, which was auctioned in three separate 1912 sales by Bruder Egger (Greek) and Hess (Roman).
2 commentsCarausius

Crawford 513/2, ROMAN IMPERATORIAL, M. Arrius Secundus, AR DenariusRome, Moneyer Issues of the Imperatorial Period.
M. Arrius Secundus. 41 BCE.
AR Denarius (3.82g; 20mm).
Rome mint.

Obverse: M. ARRIVS - SECVNDVS; bare head, with slight beard, facing right.

Reverse: Victory honors - wreath, spear and phalera.

References: Crawford 513/2; HCRI 319; Sydenham 1084; BMCRR 4210; Arria 2; G. Lahusen, Die Bildnismunzen Der Romischen Republik, pl. 63, nos. 12 and 16 (this coin illustrated twice).

Provenance: Nomisma 59 (14 May 2019) Lot 134; Munzen und Medaillen XIX (5-6 Jun 1959) Lot 172; Munzhandlung Basel 10 (15 Mar 1938) Lot 486.

M. Arrius Secundus was likely son of Quintus Arrius, who had a victory in the Servile War against one of Spartacus’ lieutenants, but subsequently lost a battle to Spartacus himself. He was the only member of his gens to strike coins, and not much else is known about him.

The slightly-bearded, obverse portrait, while probably depicting the moneyer’s father, Quintus Arrius, also bears a striking resemblance to contemporaneous portraits of Octavian. However, without any inscription naming Caesar, a positive identification of the portrait remains debated by scholars. David Sear suggests that the portrait is deliberately ambiguous, as the political and military climate was very risky and the moneyer likely wanted plausible deniability that the portrait was Octavian. The reverse shows awards of victory granted to the moneyer’s father for his Servile War victory: a laurel wreath, golden spear and phalera (a military decoration attached to a harness and worn over a cuirass).
3 commentsCarausius

Gaius Julius CaesarFebruary-March 44 BC. AR Denarius (19mm, 3.90 g, 5h). Rome mint. P. Sepullius Macer, moneyer. Laureate and veiled head right / Venus standing left, holding Victory and scepter; shield at base of scepter. Crawford 480/13; CRI 107d; Sydenham 1074; RSC 39. From the Jörg Müller Collection.

Alföldi arranges Crawford 480 series coins in (44 BC) month order as follows:

RRC 480/1, Buca - January
RRC 480/2, DICT QVART - early February
RRC 480/3/4/5, CAESAR IMP - late February
RRC 480/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14, DICT PERPETVO - early to mid March
RRC 480/17/18, CAESAR IMPER - late March
RRC 480/19/20, PARENS PATRIAE - April
RRC 480/15/16, MARIDIANVS - April
RRC 480/21/22, CLEMENTIAE CAESARIS and Mark Antony - April

"Iconography, historical meaning:

The rev. can be understand easily: The Iulians ascribed their gens back to Aeneas who was the son of Venus (Aphrodite) and Anchises.Venus was the tutelary goddess of the gens Iulia and hence of Caesar. 46 BC Caesar has consecrated together with his new built forum also the temple of Venus Genetrix, the ancestress of his gens. On this denarius with Victory, spear and shield it is rather Venus Victrix.

The portrait on obv. is imposing by its realistic depiction. It was for the first time that a living ruler was pictured on a Roman coin. This too raised suspicion that Caesar - even if he wasn't acclaimed king - would behave as such.

Caesar's portrait attracts attention by the wreath he is wearing. It protrudes notable wide beyond his forehead. Furthermore it is padded and very ragged. This characteristic received too little attention until now. There is every indication that it is not a usual wreath but a corona graminea, a Grass or Blockade crown. This crown was dedicated by the army to that commander who has freed them from an encirclement and saved them from certain death. The crown was composed from flowers and tuft of grass which was plucked at the location of their liberation. This crown was regarded as the highest of all crowns! Pliny (nat. 22, 6) has known only of 8 persons with this honour:
1. Lucius Siccius Dentatus, tribunus plebis 454 BC
2. Publius Decius Mus, 343 BC, 1st Samnite War, dedicated even by 2 armies!
3. Marcus Calpurnius Flamma, 258 BC, at Carmina on Sicily
4. Quintus Fabius Maximus, after the departure of the Carthaginians from Italy, 203 BC
(dedicated by the Senate and the people of Rome, possibly posthumous)
5. Scipio Aemilianus Africanus
6. Gnaeus Petreius Atinas, centurio during the war against the Cimbri
7. Lucius Cornelius Sulla, during the Allied War at Nola 89 BC
8. Quintus Sertorius, 97 BC aa military tribune in Spain under Titu Ddius.
To Caesar and Augustus the crown was dedicated by the Senate!

The veil Caesar is wearing as Pontifex Maximus for lifetime.

DICTATOR PERPETVVS

During Republican times a dictator was designated when the state was in an emergency situation. His position was always temporally limited, yes, sometimes designated only for a single task. In the beginning Caesar too was dictator limited to 1 year and had to be designated again for the next year. Already 46 BC Caesar has been nominated dictator for 10 years but the title had to be renewed each year. So we know of coins with DICT, DICT ITER (= again, for the second time), IC TER (for the third time) and DICT QVART.

Since the proclamation as king has failed the title dictator disappeared from the denarii and were replaced by IMP. But soon behind Caesar's head appeares a star, a crescent, or Victory's spear stands on a star. These celestial signs - and that was understod by all - stand for divinity and should raise Caesar high above all Romans. Incompatible with the idea of a republican constituted Rome.

The point of culmination in this series is the legend DICT PERPETVO of this coin. Now the title of dictator was no more temporally limited but was valid like his office as Pontifex Maximus for all his life and it no more was necessary to confirm the title each year. That actually was a spectacular violation of the Roman constitution! The fact that he appeared at the Lupercalia on February 15. 44 BC in the ancient robe of kings strengthened the suspicion that he was looking for the kingship. In fact he has publicly
refused the royal crown that was offered to him by Marcus Antonius, but his authority to exert power was equal a king even without bearing the title of king. That was the most hateful title of the Roman Republic.

Now he has passed a line that his republican enimies couldn't tolerate any more if they still wanted to be taken seriously. So this coin actually led to his murder by the conspirators. So "The coin that kills Caesar" is by no means an exaggeration.

The planned Parthian War:

Caesar has planned a war against the Parthians. In March 44 BC he wanted to start for a campaign to the east. His assassination inhibited this intention. In science disputed are the goals which Caesar has had in mind with his war. They are reaching from a boundary adjustment, as Mommsen suggested, to world domination like Alexander the Great, as Plutarch is writing: According to him Caesar after the submission of the Parthians would go across Hyrcania at the Caspian Sea, then round the Black Sea via the Caucasus, invade the land of the Scyths, attack Germania and would finally return to Italy through the land of the Celts. In this way he would have conquered the world known to the Ancients and his limits were only the shores of the surrounding Okeanos.

Probably Sueton who was sitting directly at the sources was more realistic. And we know of the campaigns of Marcus Antonius and Augustus who surely have known Caesar's plans and have used them for their own purposes. It's clear that Caesar doesn't want to repeat the errors of Crassus who perished at Carrhae, and has tried to avoid he Parthian cavalry units. Therefore a route through Lesser Armenia is most probable. And there was hope that the Mesopotamian cities would raise against the Parthians. Caesar had gathered an army of 16(!) legions, a huge power that alone by its mere bigness would ensure the victory. Caesar was no gambler, rather a cautious and prudential commander.The famous "veni, vidi, vici" doesn't exist longer. What he actually had in mind we don't know. It's speculative. But there is every indication that it was a reorganisation of the east. And that rather by establishing client-kingdoms than creating new Roman provinces.

Probably the conspirators were afraid of Caesar's Parthian War, because a victory, which was possible or even probable, would have strengthen Caesar's position and has made him practically invulnerable." - Jochen4 commentsNemonater

HOSTILIAN (as Augustus) billon antoninianus - June-Sept 251 ADobv:C.OVL.OSTIL.MES.COVINTVS.AVG
rev:VICTORIA.AVG (Victory standing right on globe, holding wreath & palm)
ref:RIC IViii-209(Trajan Decius), C.67(25fr.) but see below.
mint: Antioch
Very rare
Obverse bust below IIV or VII (it’s difficult to say exactly, because seen only four line) but I think rather IIV. It’s also interesting: initial of the legend is same as Hostilian ’Caesar’ coins: C.OVL.OSTIL… instead of C.OVAL.OSTIL…-by RIC (missing the ’A’), so this coin not in RIC.
Caius Valens Hostilianus Messius Quintus was the younger son of Trajan Decius and brother of Herennius Etruscus. In June 251 raised him to the rank of Augustus by Senate, because of his father and brother died. Shortly afterwards he died of plague in the end of July 251 (or a month later). The other alternative he was murdered by the order of Trebonianus Gallus.berserker

Italy, Rome, Republican templesLargo di Torre Argentina

Wikipedia: "Temple of Juturna built by Gaius Lutatius Catulus after his victory against the Carthaginians in 241 BC. It was later rebuilt into a church, whose apse is still present.

Circular temple with six columns remaining, was built by Quintus Lutatius Catulus in 101 BC to celebrate his victory over Cimbri; it was Aedes Fortunae Huiusce Diei, a temple devoted to the "Luck of the Current Day"."

J. B.

Italy- Rome- Largo (di Torre) ArgentinaLargo di Torre Argentina is a square in Rome that hosts four Republican Roman temples, and the reminings of Pompey's Theater. It is located in the ancient Campus Martius.

Common knowledge refers the name of the square to a Torre Argentina, which is not related to the South American country, but to the city of Strasbourg, whose original name was Argentoratum. In 1503, in fact, John Burckhardt from Strasbourg built in via del Sudario a palace (now at number 44), Casa del Bucardo, annexing a tower, called Torre Argentoratina from the name of his hometown.

After Italian unification, it was decided to reconstruct part of Rome (1909), demolishing the zone of Torre Argentina, where the remainings of a medieval tower, Torre Papito or Torre Boccamazzi, and of one temple were to be included in the new buildings. During the works (1927), however, the colossal head and arms of a marble statue were discovered. The archeological investigation brought to light the presence of a holy area, dating to the Republican era, with four temples and part of Pompey's Theater.

The buildings
The four temples, designated today by the letters A, B, C, and D, front onto a paved street, which was reconstructed in the imperial era, after 80 AD fire.

Temple A was built in the 3rd century BC, and is probably the Temple of Juturna built by Gaius Lutatius Catulus after his victory against Carthaginians in 241 BC. It was later rebuilt into a church, whoes aprses are still present.

Temple B, a circular temple with six columns remaining, was built by Quintus Lutatius Catulus in 101 BC to celebrate his victory over Cimbri; it was Aedes Fortunae Huiusce Diei, a temple devoted to the Luck of the Current Day. The colossal statue found during excavations and now kept in the Capitoline Museums was the statue of the goddess herself. Only the head, the arms, and the legs were of marble: the other parts, covered by the dress, were of bronze.

Temple C is the most ancient of the three, dating back to 4th or 3rd century BC, and was probably devoted to Feronia the ancient Italic goddess of fertility. After the fire of 80 AD, this temple was restored, and the white and black mosaic of the inner temple cell dates back to this restoration.

Temple D is the largest of the four, dates back to 2nd century BC with Late Republican restorations, and was devoted to Lares Permarini, but only a small part of it has been excavated (a street covers the most of it).

Teatro Argentina is a 18th century theater, where Gioachino Rossini's The Barber of Seville debuted in 1816, as well as Giuseppe Verdi's I due Foscari (1844) and La battaglia di Legnano (1849).

Located in the Largo Argentina is the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary, a no-kill shelter for homeless cats (of which Rome has many). The presence of the shelter proves to be a point of interest for both tourists and locals, as the historical area abounds with various breeds of cat, cavorting and lounging about on the ancient (and semi-ancient) ruins.
Peter Wissing

Julius Caesar - AR denariusmoving mint (Cisalpine Gaul or Hispania)
I 49 - VIII 48 BC
elephant right, trampling on serpent
CAESAR
sacrificial implements - simpulum (laddle), sprinkler, axe, apex (priest's hat)
RSC I 49, SRCV I 1399, Sydenham 1006, Crawford 443/1
4,00g 18mm

According to Harlan this issue is Caesar's answer to the issue of Mn. Acilius Glabrio from 50 BC (incorrectly 49 according to Crawford) which presented Pompeyans as protectors of Salus of the Republic. Elephant as traditional symbol of Metteli family symbolizes Caesar's most vehement enemy in senate Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio who in Caesar's view was the biggest threat for the Salus of the Repubic represented by snake. Caesar was careful to avoid blaming Pompey directly so he claimed that Pompey had been led astray and corrupted by Caesar’s enemies who were jealous of his glory, while he himself had always promoted Pompey’s honor and dignity. Caesar showed Rome that Metellus Scipio and his supporters were the true threat to the health and safety of the Republic, the true cause of the civil war. Sacrificial implements reminds Caesar as Pontifex Maximus.J. B.

Mark Antony Legionary Denarius LEG XIANT AVG III VIR R P C
galley r. mast with banners at prow

Rev LEG XI legionary eagle between two standards

Patrae mint 32-31BC

ex-Arcade Coins

An Antonian legion which was disbanded or lost its separate identity after the battle of Actium.

The two centurions Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus were from Legio XI (not XIII as the series Rome would have us believe). Pullo and Vorenus were fierce rivals for promotion to primus pilus, the most senior centurion in a legion. Both distinguished themselves in 54 BC when the Nervii attacked the legion under Quintus Cicero in their winter quarters in Nervian territory. In an effort to outdo Vorenus, Pullo charged out of the fortified camp and attacked the enemy, but was soon wounded and surrounded. Vorenus followed and engaged his attackers in hand-to-hand combat, killing one and driving the rest back, but lost his footing and was himself soon surrounded. Pullo in turn rescued Vorenus, and after killing several of the enemy, the pair returned to camp amid applause from their comrades.

In the Civil War of 49 BC, Pullo was assigned to the XXIV Victrix Rapax, a new Italian legion commanded by the legate Gaius Antonius. In 48 BC, Antonius was blockaded on an island and forced to surrender. Pullo was apparently responsible for most of his soldiers switching sides to fight for Pompey. Later that year, he is recorded bravely defending Pompey's camp in Greece from Caesar's attack shortly before the Battle of Pharsalus.

Jay GT4

Mark Antony, Triumvir and Imperator, 44 - 30 B.C.MARCUS ANTONIUS (Marc Antony) AR silver legionary denarius. Legion XXIII. 18mm, 3.5g. Struck at a military mint, likely Patrae, 32-31 BC. Obverse: ANT AVG III VIR R P C, Praetorian galley sailing. Reverse: LEG XXIII, eagle between standards. Ex Incitatus.

Legion XXII, the 22nd, is the second-last legion in the series and one of the scarcer types of the regular numbered legions.

Marcus Antonius (in Latin: M·ANTONIVS·M·F·M·N[1]) (January 14, 83 BC – August 1, 30 BC), known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. He was an important supporter and the loyal friend of Gaius Julius Caesar as a military commander and administrator, despite his blood ties, through his mother Iulia, to the branch of Caesars opposed to the Marians and murdered by them. After Caesar's assassination, Antony formed an official political alliance with Octavian (Augustus) and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, known to historians today as the Second Triumvirate.

The triumvirate broke up in 33 BC. Disagreement between Octavian and Antony erupted into civil war, the Final War of the Roman Republic, in 31 BC. Antony was defeated by Octavian at the naval Battle of Actium, and in a brief land battle at Alexandria. He and his lover Cleopatra committed suicide shortly thereafter.

For anyone tempted to laud Marcus Antonius, to Antony's great shame read what Plutarch wrote about what Antony did to Cicero:

Plutarch: Cicero's Death

But in the meantime the assassins were come with a band of soldiers, Herennius, a centurion, and Popillius, a tribune, whom Cicero had formerly defended when prosecuted for the murder of his father. Finding the doors shut, they broke them open, and Cicero not appearing, and those within saying they knew not where he was, it is stated that a youth, who had been educated by Cicero in the liberal arts and sciences, an emancipated slave of his brother Quintus, Philologus by name, informed the tribune that the litter was on its way to the sea through the close and shady walks. The tribune, taking a few with him, ran to the place where he was to come out. And Cicero, perceiving Herennius running in the walks, commanded his servants to set down the litter; and stroking his chin, as he used to do, with his left hand, he looked steadfastly upon his murderers, his person covered with dust, his beard and hair untrimmed, and his face worn with his troubles. So that the greatest part of those that stood by covered their faces whilst Herennius slew him. And thus was he murdered, stretching forth his neck out of the litter, being now in his sixty-fourth year. Herennius cut off his head, and, by Antony's command, his hands also, by which his Philippics were written; for so Cicero styled those orations he wrote against Antony, and so they are called to this day.

When these members of Cicero were brought to Rome, Antony was holding an assembly for the choice of public officers; and when he heard it, and saw them, he cried out, "Now let there be an end of our proscriptions." He commanded his head and hands to be fastened up over the rostra, where the orators spoke; a sight which the Roman people shuddered to behold, and they believed they saw there, not the face of Cicero, but the image of Antony's own soul.

Translation by John Dryden: http://intranet.grundel.nl/thinkquest/moord_cicero_plu.html

Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes

Mn. Aemilius Lepidus - AR denariusRome
²113 BC / ¹114-113 BC
laureate, diademed and draped bust of Roma right
RO(MA)
(XVI)
equestrian statue on aquaduct right, holding vertical spear, standing on 3 archs of aquaduct (Aqua Marcia)
(MN)·AE_M_ILIO·
L-E-P
¹Crawford 291/1, SRCV I 168, Sydenham 554, RSC I Aemilia 7, BMC Italy 590
²Mark Passehl - Roman moneyer & coin type chronology, 150 – 50 BC
3,8g 18,5mm
ex Failla

At the beginning of construction of Aqua Marcia was moneyer's ancestor censor M. Aemilius Lepidus. Aqueduct was repaired and extended by Quintus Marcius Rex 144-140 BC after whom got its name.J. B.

Philippopolis Lucius Verus Governor Q. Tullius Maximus (161-9 AD)AE 30

Ob: AV KAI Î› AVPH | Î›IOC OVHPOC
Au(tokrater) Kai(sar) L(ucius) Aure(lius) Verus
Bare bearded head
Rx: HÎ“E TOVÎ› MAÎžIMOV AÎ OÎ” VÎ AT
Hege(moneuontos) Tul(liou) Maximou apod(edeigmenou) hupat(ou)

Ex: Î¦IÎ›IÎ Î O

Zeus enthroned left; holding upright scepter in left hand and patera in outstretched right

BMC-; Minnet Supp. II-; Varbanov (E) III-; Mushmov "Les Monnaies Antiques de Philippopolis" (1924) -; apparently unpublished;

This coin was issued under the legate of Thrace Quintus Tullius Maximus (161-169AD)
Apodedeigmenou is a passive perfect participle of apodeiknumi, which is often used to denote holding or being appointed to an office. hupatou generally means consul or leader in this context (Polybius uses this greek word specifically for consul; 6.12.1 in plural). Both words in genitive absolute.

Stein reported the conjecture of R. Munsterburg, who in his article, “Verkannte Titel auf griechischen Munzen” from Jahreshefte des Osterreicheschen Archaologischen Institutes in Wien XVIII (1915) pp.312-313, avers that a coin incorrectly reported by A. Degrand in Numismatique Revue 1900 pp.414 #38 (a Lucius Verus River-god; with no plate unfortunately), HGE. TO.YL MAXIMOY APODYIGD(?) to read as, HGE TOUL MAXIMOU APOD(DEIGMENOU) HUPA(TOU) = consulis designati.

The pi and alpha of hupatou are incorrectly read by Degrand as an iota +gamma+delta; sic VIÎ“Î” = VÎ A.

Varbanov correctly divides the APOD from the VPA on coins for M. Aurelius and L. Verus, where it is present. Cf. Varbanov(E) III 903-906 for L. Verus; 797-802 for M. Aurelius.

What is so interesting about this coin is that it has that extra terminal tau, unlike the coin reported by the specimens in Varbanov or by Degrand (which was in Philippopolis (Plovdiv) Bulgaria where he was some sort of French minister at the turn of the 19th century). This tau adds some more credence to Munsterburg’s conjecture, (not that it was in doubt).

A. Degrand "Monnaies Inedites ou peu connues de la Moesie Inferieure et de la Thrace" Numismatique Revue ser. 4 vol 4 pp. 402-422 (1900).rennrad12020

Philippopolis Lucius Verus Q. Tullius Maximus (161-169 AD)AE 30 15.71g

Lucius Verus Philippopolis

Q. Tullius Maximus (161-169 AD)

Obv: AV KAI Î› AVP | HÎ›IOC OVHPOC
Bare head right

Rev: HÎ“ K TO[VÎ› MAÎžIMOV Î¦IÎ›I]Î Î OÎ OÎ›ETIÎ© (sic)
Homonoia standing facing, head left holding cornucopiae in left and patera over lit altar

Varbanov (E) III-; Mushmov "Les Monnaies Antiques de Philippopolis"(1924) -; Mionnet Supp. II -; BMC –

Reverse die exhibits the kappa for the praenomen Quintus.

smooth chocolate patina

rennrad12020

Q FABIUS LABEO ROMAN REPUBLIC AR DenariusOBVERSE: LABEO before, ROMA behind, helmeted head of Roma right, X below chin
REVERSE: Jupiter in quadriga right, prow below; Q FABI in ex.
Struck at Rome 124 BC
3.8g, 18mm
Cr273/1; Syd 532, Fabia 1Legatus

Q. POMPONIUS MUSA ROMAN REPUBLIC; GENS POMPONIA AR DenariusOBVERSE: Laureate head of Apollo right; sandal to left
REVERSE: Thalia, the Muse of Comedy, wearing long flowing tunic and peplum, standing left and leaning left arm on column, holding persona (comic mask) in outstretched right hand
Rome 55 BC
3.39g, 16mm
Crawford 410/9b; Sydenham 821; Pomponia 19Legatus

Q. Sicinius, Crawford 440/1Quintus Sicinius, gens Sicinia
AR - Denarius, 17.42mm, 3.71g, 90°
struck 49-48 BC
obv. Head of Fortuna Populi Romani, diademed, r.
bevor FORT, behind P.R.
rev. crossed winged caduceus and fileted Palm branch, above wreath
in field l. and r. III. - .VIR
below Q.SICINIVS
ref. Crawford 440/1; Sydenham 938; Sicinia 5; RCV 410; BMCRR 3947
about VF

Q. Sicinius was a follower of Pompeius. The rev. is full of symbolic: The caduceus stands for Pompeius' victory over the Cilician pirates and the free trade after their defeat. The palm branch symbolizes all his victories. The wreath seems to stand for the chaplet which was given to him by the Roman People (Mommsen, Römische Geschichte).

This type has been struck at a critical point of the Civil War, late February or early March 49 BC, probably outside of Rome. Caesar has already crossed the Rubicon on January 1. Sicinius fled with the other Pompeians to Greece end of March. He seems to be the last Republican mint master.Jochen

Quintus Antonius BalbusObv: Laureate head of Jupiter facing right, SC behind.

Rev: Victory in quadriga galloping right, holding wreath and a palm, control letter X below; Q ANTO BALB / PR in exergue.

Silver Denarius Serratus, Rome mint, 83 - 82 BC

3.9 grams, 19.2 x 18.6 mm, 180°

RSC Antonia 1, S2791 commentsMatt Inglima

QUINTUS CAECILIUS METELLUSAR denarius. 81 BC. 3.76 gr. Diademed head of Pietas right. Stork in front. / Elephant walking left. QCMPI (Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Imperator) in exergue. Toned. Craw 374/01. RSC Caecilia 43.
Ex I. & L. Goldberg.
benito

QUINTUS CAECILIUS METELLUS AR denarius. 81 BC. 3.76 gr. Diademed head of Pietas right. Stork in front. / Elephant walking left. QCMPI (Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Imperator) in exergue. Toned. Craw 374/01. RSC Caecilia 43.
Ex I. & L. Goldberg.

benito

Quintus Caecillius Metellus Pius Scipio Nasisca (Pergamon. Stumpf 68)Promagisterial Cistophori. Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio Nasica as Proconsul of Syria. AR Cistophoric Tetradrachm. Pergamum mint, 49-48 BC. Serpent emerging from cista mystica; all within wreath / Q · METELLVS · PIVS · SCIPIO · IMPER. Two serpents entwined by a legionary aquila. In the left field, monogram of Pergamum. 28 mm, 12.11 g. Stumpf 68; Metcalf 232 (O17/R-. Unlisted reverse die)

Ex Gitbud & Naumann 33, July 2015, Lot 1662 commentszadie

Quintus Fabius Labeo, RCV 148, 124 BCHelmeted head of Roma Right. Jupiter in quadriga right, prow below.
ROMA - Rome
LABEO
FABIJonathan N

Quintus Minucius Rufus, Denarius RRC 277/1
122 bc

Obverse: Helmeted head of Roma r.; behind, RVF and below chin, X.
Reverse: The Dioscuri galloping r.; below, Q·MINV and in exergue, ROMA.

The moneyer is presumabely Q. Minucius Rufus, Leg. 110 and elder brother of the Consul of 110 (Crawford)

--
Ex Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction 78, Lot 595, 26 - 27 May 2014 Norbert

R., Syria, Antioch ad Orontem, (13-14 A.D.), Dated (ΔM= Year 44, 13/14 A.D.), RPC 4269, BMC Galatia 65, AE-20, Ram, running, right, #1Syria, Antioch ad Orontem, (13-14 A.D.), Dated (ΔM= Year 44, 13/14 A.D.), RPC 4269, BMC Galatia 65, AE-20, Ram, running, right, #1
avers: No legend, Laureate head of Zeus right.
reverse: ΕΠΙ ΣΙΛΑΝΟΥ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΕΩΝ, Ram, running, right, looking back, star above, ΔM below.
exergue: *//ΔM, diameter: 19,5mm, weight: 6,71g, axes: 0h,
mint: Region: Syria, Province: Syria, City: Antioch ad Orontem,
date: ΔM= Year 44, 13/14 A.D., Reign: Augustus, Magistrate: Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus Silanus as Governor of Syria,
ref: BMC Galatia 65, Butcher 58, MacDonald, NC 1904, RPC 4269,
Q-001quadrans

Roma repubblicana, denario Quintus Minucius Rufus (122 a.C.), Boyd collectionQ. Minucius Rufus (122 a.C.) denario d'argento, zecca di Roma
AR, 3.95 gr. mm 20,0, qSPL
D/ RVF, testa elmata di Roma a dx, X (marca di valore) in basso a dx,
R/ I Dioscuri che cavalcano a dx, Q MINVS / ROMA in basso ed ex
Crawford 277/1; Sydenham 421; Minucia 1
Provenienza: collezione Berardengo, Roma Italia (14 novembre 2009, numero catalogo 8), ex W.S. Lincoln collection (London, 1896), ex W.C. Boyd collection (London, gennaio 1897), ex Baldwin's auctions 42 (London, 26 settembre 2005, parte del lotto 171), ex Antony Wilson collection (London, 2009). paolo

Roman Empire / Emperor Didius Julianus, Bronze sestertiusDidius Julianus, AE sestertius

Obverse : IMP CAES M DID SE VERIVLIAN AVG
Laureate head right.

Reverse : P M TR P COS Fortuna standing holding rudder set on globe and cornucopiae , S C at sides

Fine , weight 21.290g, maximum diameter 28.6mm, die axis 180o, 28 Mar - 2 Jun 193 A.D.

Rare. RIC IV 15 , Cohen 12 (30 Fr.), SRCV II 6076

From the Sam Mansourati collection.

“Auction of the Empire”, Didius Julianus became an emperor placing the biggest bid.

Caesar Marcus Didius Severus Julianus Augustus, the son of Quintus Petronius Didius Severus and Aemilia Clara, was born in Milan on either 30 January 133 or 2 February 137 with the correct date being unknown. He was raised and educated in the household of Domitia Lucilla, mother of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, and rose through Roman public distinction through the support of the Emperor and his mother. In 170 CE, Julianus commanded the XXII Primigenia Legion in Mogontiacum (Mainz), Germany. Then he replaced Pertinax as proconsul of Africa., and Pertinax, now emperor, was murdered by the Praetorian Guard. This began the event known as, “Auction of the Empire”, which Didius Julianus is infamous for winning. He outbidded the father-in-law of Pertinax, Titus Flavius Claudius Sulpicianus, who was the prefect of Rome, by offering to pay the Praetorian Guard 25000 sesterces for the throne.The Senate declared Julianus emperor in fear of the Roman army, but his rule was to be short-lived; Three other generals and governors across the empire declared themselves the rightful heir, and Septimius Severus marched on Rome. The people of Rome despised and rejected Julianus from the start, because they believed he was involved with the corruption. Without the support of Rome, the Imperial Guard would not fight for Julianus and Severus marched into the palace, declared himself emperor, and killed Didius Julianus after just sixty-six days of rule.2 commentsSam

ROMAN REPUBLIC, Gens Antonia, AR DenariusMint:Rome; 83/82 BC, Denarius serratus
Dimensions:19mm/3.94grms.
Obverse: S.C "senatus consulto"
Reverse: Q.(ANT)O.B(AL)B/ PR "Quintus Antonius Balbus Praetor"
Réf: RCV279
2 comments

Roman Republic, Q. Minucius Thermus Denarius - Warriors in Combat (Crawf. 319/1)AR Denarius
Rome, 103 BC
3.89g

Obv: Helmeted head of a youthful Mars (L).

Rev: Two warriors in combat, a Roman soldier on left protecting a fallen comrade.
Q•THERM•MF (ligate) in exergue.

Crawford 319/1; Minucia 19; BMCRR Italy 653-6

From the Andrew McCabe Collection
Roma Numismatics E-Sale 71, 28/05/2020, Lot 803
ex. NAC Auction 106, 09/05/2018, Lot 393

This coin records the brave deeds of the moneyer's ancestor and namesake, Quintus Minucius Thermus who was elected consul in 193 and waged war against the Ligurians, defeating their forces near Pisa. He remained as proconsul in Liguria for 191–190. During this time it appears that he may have won the distinction of the corona civica, the second highest military award to which a Roman could aspire, by saving the life of a fellow citizen in battle through slaying an enemy on a spot not further held by the enemy army that day - this act being depicted on the reverse.

He may also have been the same Thermus who served as military tribune under Scipio in North Africa in 202 BC. Appian relates that about this time there was a cavalry engagement between the forces of Hannibal and those of Scipio near Zama, in which the latter had the advantage. Scipio, learning that Hannibal was short of supplies and was expecting a convoy, sent the military tribune, [Quintus Minucius] Thermus, by night to attack the supply train. Thermus took a position on the crest of a hill at a narrow pass, where he killed 4,000 Africans, took as many more prisoners, and brought the supplies to Scipio.2 commentsOptimo Principi

Roman Republic, Q. Sicinius and C. Coponius (with Pompey) Denarius - Club of Hercules with Lionskin (Crawf. 444/1a)AR Denarius
Mint moving with Pompey in Asia, 49 BC
3.92g

Obv: Head of Apollo (R), hair tied with band; below, star
Q·SICINIVS – III·VIR

Rev: Club of Hercules upright on which hangs lion’s skin with head R; in L field, arrow and in R field, bow.
C·COPONIVS – PR·S·C

RSC Sicinia 1 & Coponia 1. Sydenham 939. Sear Imperators 3. RBW 1558. Crawford 444/1a.

NAC Auction 100, Lot 1569, 29/05/16

This denarius was minted by the moneyer Quintus Sicinius with the praetor Caius Coponius, somewhere on the campaign with Pompey c.49 BC. The legend identifies C. Caponius by his official position as praetor ('PR') and emphasises his and Pompey's claim to have Senate approval for this issue ('S.C'), in contrast to the renegade Caesar. Coponius led Pompey's Rhodian fleet and Caesar himself describes how Coponius harassed his fleet led by Mark Antony and hindered his Adriatic crossing to Dyrrachium, forcing him to an alternate landing at Lissus.3 commentsOptimo Principi

ROMAN REPUBLIC, Quintus Caecilius Metellus - 130BC - AR DenariusJupiter in slow quadriga r., holding branch and thunderbolt.
3.9g - 18mm - s.132 - good V. F.

Photographically this picture is interesting. The main illumination is from an LED spotlamp, at 11 o'clock, high overhead of Roma's helmet. The LED spotlamp ( CREE Technology E27 JDR Super Bright 3 Watt Single Die LED Spotlight in COOL WHITE, bought on ebay) gives a blue (cool white) light. At this point in my photographic exploits, I am not sure how I had set the whitebalance.
Secondary lighting, is from a 60watt tungsten reflector bulb, lower down, and at 2 o'clock position. The secondary light is to fill in deep shadow caused by the primary light source. However the orange colour of the tungsten is quite obvious where it shines.
Tertiary light comes from indoor daylight, but is weak compared to the brightness of the spotlights.
Reducing the colour contrast, using my photo-editing software can reduce the colour, and yet keep the greyscale contrast ~ it's a matter of taste, or is it pedantry?
A slightly longer exposure time, might help too.

ROMAN REPUBLIC, Quintus Titius, Denarius, 90 BC.Obv: Anepigraphic
Head of young Bacchus (Liber), right, wearing ivy wreath.
Rev: Q TITI
Legend on tablet from which springs Pegasus.
3.76 gm, 19.5 mm, Mint: Rome, S 239, RSC 2.
Comment: Gens Titia. Area of flat strike to rear of bust and hindquarters of Pegasus. Control mark to lower right of obverse showing a ligate IV or N.
Ex - Berk1 comments

SYRIA, ANTIOCH"STAR OF BETHLEHEM"
Autonomous Issue Under Augustus
Struck 12/14 AD (Actian Year 44)
under Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus Silanus as Governor of Syria
AE 19.5 mm 6.58 g
O: Laureate head of Zeus right
R: ANTIOXEΩN EΠI ΣIΛANOY Ram leaping right, looking back, star above, ΔM below
Syria, Antioch;
RPC 4269;Butcher 58; BMC Galatia 65 (scarce)
laney

SYRIA, ANTIOCH "Star of Bethlehem""STAR OF BETHLEHEM"
Autonomous Issue Under Augustus
Struck 12/14 AD (Actian Year 44)
under Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus Silanus as Governor of Syria
AE 19.5 mm 6.58 g
O: Laureate head of Zeus right
R: ANTIOXEΩN EΠI ΣIΛANOY Ram leaping right, looking back, star above, ΔM below
Syria, Antioch;
RPC 4269;Butcher 58; BMC Galatia 65 (scarce)laney

Thrace, Philippopolis. Marcus Aurelius AE30. Q. Tullius Maximus Magistrate Obv: ΑΥ ΚΑΙ Μ ΑΥΡΗ ΑΝΤΩΝΕΙΝΟΣ / bare head of Marcus Aurelius, r.
Rev: ΗΓΕ ΤΟΥΛ ΜΑZIΜΟΥ ΑΠΟΔ ΥΠΑ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΠΟΛΙ / Zeus seated, l., holding patera and long scepter.
Magistrate Quintus Tullius Maximus, Legatus Augusti pro praetore provinciae Thraciae.
30mm., 17.4g.
1 commentsancientone

Trajan Decius (Caius Messius Quintus Decius) (249-251 A.D.)RIC IV-3 28b, Sear 9384, Van Meter 20

AR Antoninianus, 3.28 g., 22.78 mm. max., 0°

Rome mint, Group II, struck 250-251 A.D.

Obv.: IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind.

Rev.: VBERITAS AVG, Uberitas standing left, holding purse/cow's udder and cornucopia.

Uberitas was the personification of fruitfulness, primarily agricultural fertility.

RIC rarity C, Van Meter VB1. Harshly cleaned (not by me), perhaps by electrolysis, which might explain the lightness of the coin.Stkp

Trajan Decius AntoninianusOb. IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, radiate, draped & cuirassed bust right
Rev. DACIA, Personification of Dacia stands left, holding a staff surmounted with the head of a dragon

Ref. RIC 2b, RSC13
Weight 3.7g

-:Bacchus:-

Gaius Messius Quintus Decius was born in a village near the Danube River. He married well, to the aristocratic Etruscilla, and later became Senator, then Consul. Decius served the usurper, Philip I, then became (perhaps unwillingly) a usurper himself when his troops proclaimed him Augustus. After he defeated Philip and executed him, the Senate quickly flattered him with Trajan's respected name. At the time, Rome was beleaguered by the Goths, and the Christian church was seen as a secondary threat. Decius attacked both Christianity (executing Pope Fabianus) and the Goths. Though devastatingly successful against the former, the Goths defeated his army, and Decius became the first Roman Emperor to be killed by a foreign army.

Note the allusion that this is a male is due to worn dies - the robes and other attributes all indicate this is female
Bacchus

Trajan Decius Antoninianus, DaciaAR Antoninianus
Trajan Decius 249-251 CE
Diameter: 21-23mm, Weight: 4.32 grams, Die axis: 6h

Obverse: IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG
Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust to right.

Reverse: DACIA
Personification of Dacia standing left, holding staff in right hand topped with a Draco.

Mint: Rome

References: RIC 12b

Notes:
-Decius’ full name was Caius Messius Quintus Decius, hence C M Q on obverse.

Purchased from Forvm Ancient Coins 2017, Ex Forvm member Noah’s collection, Ex Dr Martina Dieterle 2007

Photo credit to Forvm Ancient CoinsPharsalos

Trajan, RIC 577, Sestertius of AD 103-4 (Octastyle temple w. portico)Æ Sestertius (25.89g, Ø33mm, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 103-4.
IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P, laureate head of Trajan right
Rev. S·P·Q·R·OPTIMO PRINCIPI (around,) S C (in field below steps, l. & r. of altar), Octastyle temple on podium with steps with portico on either side, cult statue seated on pedestal in centre between the columns; architrave and roof adorned with figures; in front an altar adorned with guirlands
RIC 577 var. (without altar in front); Cohen 549 (one entry with or without altar); Strack 394; Banti 287/288; MIR 253 and pl. 50 (5 spec.); RCV 3210 var. (without altar in front); RHC 102:44; van Meter: 54/16.

Ex Soler y Llach auction 1083 (2014).

According to P. Hill, this is the temple of Jupiter Victor at the north-eastern corner of the Palatine. It was erected by Quintus Fabius around 295 BC. It was reconstructed by Domitian after it was destroyed by fire in AD 80 and rededicated by Trajan in 113. Strack believes it is most likely the temple of Divus Nervae. According to others (eg.. Clive Foss; David van Meter) it represents the temple of Venus Genetrix of the Forum of Julius Caesar with the fountain of Appiades in front. Woytek (2010) however concurs with Hill and tentatively identifies it as the temple of Jupiter Victor.Charles S

Viminacium (Moesia Superior). Hostilian (Caesar, 250-251 A.D., Augustus, July-November 251 A.D.) (Caius Valens Hostilianus Messius Quintus)Pick 155 var., Martin 4.07.7, Varbanov __, Boric-Brescovic __, Jekov __, Moushmov 52.

AE sestertius, 24-25 mm, die alignment 0°

Dated year 12 (250-251 A.D.),

Obv: IMP C VAI HOST M QVIHTVS AVG, bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust, right.

Rev: P M S C-OL VIM, AN XII in exergue, Moesia standing, between a bull and a lion.
Stkp

[1108a] Trajan Decius, July 249 - June or July 251 A.D. Silver antoninianus, RIC 11b, RSC 4, choice EF, Rome mint, 3.923g, 23.3mm, 0o, 249 - 251 A.D.; Obverse: IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust right, from behind; Reverse: ADVENTVS AVG, Trajan Decius on horseback left, raising right hand and holding scepter. Ex FORVM.

De Imperatoribus Romanis,
An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors

Trajan Decius (249-251 A.D.) and Usurpers During His Reign

Geoffrey Nathan and Robin McMahon

Geoffrey Nathan
San Diego State University

Early Life and Public Career

Any discussion of Decius (and for most third century emperors) must be prefaced by an understanding that the historical tradition is incomplete, fragmentary, and not wholly trustworthy. Any reconstruction of his life and reign will therefore be to some degree speculative. With that caveat in mind, Gaius Messius Quintus Decius was born, to a provincial yet aristocratic Senatorial family during the transitional Severan age, possibly in 201. His family may have been from Italian stock, although that is by no means certain. Attempts to describe his life previous to the consulship are problematic, although he did serve as governor in Moesia in the mid-230's. That also means that Decius probably had been a member of the Senate for some time. We know little else about his early life, other than at some point he married Herennia Cupressenia Etruscilla, apparently from the Senatorial ordo as well. His political fortunes rose in the troubled 240's. As instability grew in the mid-third century, Philip the Arab charged Decius, suffect consul for 249, with restoring order along the Danubian frontier. In addition to the border unrest, a low-level army officer, Tiberius Claudius Marinus Pacatianus, had led a rebellion of the armies in Pannonia and Moesia. For a short time, Marinus apparently claimed the imperial purple and along with movements of the Gepidae, represented a clear threat to the stability of Philip's rule.

Philip's decision to send Decius was perhaps more motivated by political expediency than by any great confidence in his military abilities. Decius had an aristocratic pedigree, and so was likely to have been a popular choice with a Senate that was increasingly doubtful of Philip's abilities. He was also a native of Sirmium in Pannonia Inferior, and so was likely familiar with the intricacies of life and politics in the region. Finally, he had, of course, served as governor of the wayward province, and thus undoubtedly had connections there among the civil and military curia--ones that Philip hoped Decius could exploit. Thus, the consul was charged with restoring order along one of the Empire's most problematic borders. Accompanied by his son, Herennius, Decius traveled to Moesia, probably to reclaim the Legio IV Flavia Felix and possibly the Legio XI, both of which were stationed in that province.

Shortly before his arrival, Marinus was killed and local troops quickly named Decius emperor, encouraging him to assert this newfound responsibility in a war against Philip. Philip's inability to deal decisively with the worsening military crises on the borders, the fear of punishment, and the opportunity for enrichment no doubt motivated the soldiers to place the purple on a local leader--a now increasingly common practice. Decius' lineage also probably appealed to traditionalists in Rome, who begrudged Philip his humble origins and his possible involvement in the death of Gordian III. Philip led out an army in June of 249 to meet his newest rival for the purple and at an unknown location (possibly Verona or Beroea) lost the battle. Whether Philip died in the fighting or was assassinated by his own troops--another increasingly common practice--is unknown. Philip's son, Philip Junior, recently made an Augustus, was quickly put to death by the Praetorian Guard in Rome. Decius was the first emperor to come from the Balkans region. How much he wanted to serve is unknown. While this account undoubtedly contains fictional elements, with several popular literary topoi, the rough outlines of the story are undoubtedly true: we have epigraphic evidence in July for support among the Pannonian Legio X, suggesting that Decius owed his accession in no small part to local troops

Publicity and Power
The victory of an established Senatorial aristocrat was one that seemed to reassert the authority and place of traditional political power, despite the means of Decius' ascension. The new emperor, no doubt aware of the perils of his position, seems to have embarked upon a highly conservative program of imperial propaganda to endear himself to the Roman aristocracy and to the troops who had thrust the purple upon him. One of his earliest acts was to take the honorific name of Trajan, whose status as the greatest of all emperors after Augustus was now becoming firmly established. The fact that Trajan had commanded legions in Upper Germany and had close links to both Pannonia and Moesia at the time of his accession invited the comparison. The name was cleverly chosen: Trajan had been an active and successful general throughout his reign, but had also established a reputation for a widely popular civil government.

Decius also served as consul in every year of his reign and took for himself traditional republican powers, another way to underscore his authority and conservatism. He even tried to revive the long defunct office of censor in 251, purportedly offering it to the future emperor, Valerian. Decius moreover portrayed himself as an activist general and soldier. In addition to leading military campaigns personally, he often directly bestowed honors upon his troops, high and low alike. He also holds the dubious distinction of being the first emperor to have died fighting a foreign army in battle. Finally, in 250, he associated his sons Herennius and Hostilianus in his rule by making them Caesars, eventually raising the former (and elder) to Augustus. Undoubtedly, Decius sought to create a dynasty in much the same way the Gordians had in the previous decade. This traditionalism may to be a large extent, however, a construction rather than a reality. When we abandon the literary tradition and look instead at other forms of evidence, his imperial aims are less clear. The legal record, extremely thin, is only vaguely supportive of a conservative policy: most of his surviving enactments deal with private law issues consistent with earlier Severan jurisprudence.

On the other hand in late 249, when Decius returned to Rome, he embarked upon an active building program in the capital. After a destructive fire, he extensively restored the Colosseum. He later commissioned the opulent Decian Baths along the Aventine. He perhaps also was responsible for the construction of the Decian Portico. Such activities contrasted to a twenty-year period of relative building inactivity. Both the kind of building projects and their stylistic qualities suggest an attempt to recall the glories of the past. The numismatic evidence also suggests some degree of traditionalism. It is there that we see the first references to Trajan Decius, as well as an association with both Pannonia and Dacia. His Liberitas and Uberitas issues, combined with his wife's Pudicitia and his sons' Princeps Iuventi coins, all seem to rearticulate traditional ideology. Legends tend to be conservative, so this is hardly surprising, but there were no great innovations to suggest a new set of ideological principles. In sum, while the literary reconstructions of Decius' life are problematic, it seems clear that traditionalism was an important factor in his administration, especially in the wake of Philip's reign.

The Persecution of Christians
Another possible aspect of this conservatism was a reported wide-scale attack on the growing Christian minority. The third century saw the slow creation of sizeable communities in the Empire's urban populations. For the first time, if we are to believe Christian sources, an Empire-wide persecution of Christians was begun under Decius. The state required all citizens to sacrifice to the state gods and be in receipt of a libellus, a certificate from a temple confirming the act. The rationale for the emperor's actions, however, is not entirely clear. Eusebius writes he did so because he hated Philip, who purportedly was a secret Christian. Probably the enmity was real, but it seems unconnected to the introduction of these policies. More likely, if Decius did indeed seek to persecute Christians, he was reacting to the growing visibility of the religion, especially in the city of Rome itself. One of the more prominent martyrs of the age was Fabian, the bishop of the imperial capital.

But the new policy of public religiosity was much more probably a program to reassert traditional public piety, consistent with some of the other conservative initiatives introduced during the emperor's short reign. The libelli themselves were largely generalized in nature and language, and there is no implication that they were directed at any one group per se. Whatever intended effect it may have had on Christianity was thus to a degree unplanned. Christians would have no doubt seen it differently. It is possible then that fourth and fifth century Christian polemicists have misinterpreted (whether purposefully or not) Decius' libelli. In the particular cases of Eusebius and Lactantius, both wrote in the wake of the great persecution of Diocletian and no doubt magnified upon the theme of the tyrant-persecutor. A hostile tradition notwithstanding, the new requirements did impact Christians most acutely, causing considerable division in the growing ranks of the new religion.

Imperial and Military Problems
Like other third century emperors, Decius was not free of threats to his authority, either from within or without. The revolt of Jotapianus, either in Syria or Cappadocia, had actually begun in Philip's reign, but was quickly quelled after Decius' accession. Probably the usurper's own soldiers murdered the would-be emperor, since the accounts state that his body was delivered to Decius while still in Rome in the summer of 249.
A potentially more serious revolt broke out while Decius was out of Rome in 250 fighting the Goths. Julius Valens Licinianus, also a member of the Senatorial aristocracy with some popular support, took the purple at the Empire's capital. It appears to have been relatively short-lived grab for power, ending in a few days with his execution. The governor of Macedon, Titus Julius Priscus, also permitted himself to be proclaimed Augustus at Philippopolis towards the end of 251, probably with Gothic collusion. The Senate declared him a public enemy almost as soon as he chose usurpation. He probably survived Decius, but is likely to have perished when Gallus became emperor.

Of greater concern than sporadic rebellions, which were relatively minor, were the vitreous northern borders. For the first time, a new and aggressive Germanic people, the Goths, crossed into and raided Roman territory in the 250's. At the time of Decius' forced accession, the Gepidae and the Carpi were both raiding deep into the Moesian provinces. They, along with the Goths, raided Pannonia and Dacia as well. Decius was forced to fight campaigns each year of his reign, doing his best to keep the borders stable.

His final campaign in 251 led to the death of his son, Herennius, and to his own. Decius led a successful attack on the Carpi, pushing them out of Dacia. But Moesia Inferior had been left largely undefended and Cniva, king of the Goths, led a sizeable portion of his army into the province. The emperor, after chasing the Germanic force around the region, engaged Cniva's forces outside of Philippopolis, which had recently been sacked by the king and held by the rebel, Priscus. It was here that his elder son was slain by an arrow and the emperor, seeking to reassure his troops, famously proclaimed that the death of one soldier was not a great loss to the Republic. Cniva then led his troops homeward, laden with the spoils of war. The loss became Decius' undoing. Trebonianus Gallus, one of the emperor's commanders, may have revolted, although it is not entirely clear. Instead of regrouping his forces and re-securing the borders, Decius unwisely sought to chase down Cniva before he left Roman territory. His decision may have been motivated by his son's death (despite his insistence otherwise) or it may have been an attempt to salvage what had been a failed campaign. In either case, it was ill-advised.

It was at Abrittus, about 100 kilometers northeast of Nicopolis that Decius finally met his death. Hoping to cut off Cniva's escape route (and perhaps minimize any help from Gallus), Decius' army was itself cut off in the marshy terrain. The details are sketchy, but Cniva divided his seventy thousand man army into three groups and surrounded the emperor's force. On July 1st, the emperor and most of his troops were slain. In the aftermath, the survivors named Trebonianus Gallus emperor, a decision subsequently confirmed by the Senate. Some contemporaries called the death tragic; others heroic. An Altar of Decius was erected where the emperor fell, still apparently famous two centuries later. Decius and Herennius may have even been deified. Christian polemicists, as might be expected, took pleasure in describing Decius' body being stripped and left on the battlefield to be devoured by animals. Whatever else, his was the first death of an emperor at the hands of an enemy of Rome. But even the account of his death, along with that of his son, must be looked on suspiciously. Their deaths bring to mind the sacrificial devotions of the famous Republican Decii father and son, P. Decius Mus senior and junior. The circumstances of Decius' death, therefore, are perhaps as opaque as those of his accession.

Assessment
In spite of gaining some modicum of praise from both ancient and modern observers, Decius' reign was not well-suited to the demands of a rapidly changing empire. Conservatism may have been popular among a certain portion of the Roman elite, but the old aristocracy's power and influence all but disappeared in the third century. Decius clearly had a broader vision of what he wanted to accomplish in his reign than many of his contemporaries, and certainly he was vigorous, but he was also a man who was not sufficiently flexible when the moment called for it. His religious policy caused major disruptions in Rome and; in contrast to some of the other barracks emperors, Decius proved himself less than apt when dealing with Rome's Germanic foes. His death may have been heroic, but it was unnecessary and unsuccessful. This best sums up Decius Trajan's reign.

Ancient Sources

Relatively little remains about Decius' reign. If there were a biography of Decius in the SHA, it no longer survives, although there are scattered references to his rule in the biographies of Claudius II Gothicus and Aurelian. Zosimus, i: 21-23, Aurelius Victor, 29-30, Zonaras 12, Eutropius 9, Jordanes Get. 17-8, and Sylvius Polemius 37-40 have brief accounts of his reign. There are fragments in John of Antioch, fr. 148 and Dexippus, fr. 18. Eusebius, vi: 39-41, vii:1, 11, 22, and viii:4, discusses his persecution, and there are passing references to his persecution in Socrates and Lactantius. Inscriptions and coinage are relatively abundant.

Copyright (C) 2002, Geoffrey Nathan and Robin McMahon. Published on De Imperatoribus Romanis, An Online Encyclopedia of the Roman Emperors and their Families; http://www.roman-emperors.org/decius.htm. Used by permission.

Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
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